Last Known Activity

Last Known ActivityThe following account comes from Thomas J. Vogel's Book..Growing Up In Vietnam....

After Steve and I went on R&R,the company packed up and moved to hill 37. They immediatly went to the field on a operation in Dodge City. They surprised the gooks in a village and even captured some of them.

The next day Kilo moved out in a column. They left some of the guys behind to guard the prisoners. Lt. Thomas, the new CO,led them through a clearing that bordered a long, thin lake.

(Jim McCarthy) "The lake was on my right, and the entire embankment was lined with large punji stakes. The stakes were leaning and facing toward the Kilo Marines. As soon as I saw that, I radioed that it didn't look good."

The stakes made getting down the embankment for protection nearly impossible. On the left flank was a 100-meters square field. A tree line was on all three sides of the field.

"As we crossed the field, the gooks opened up from ambush from two sides. It was a classic L-shaped ambush. Second Platoon was in the lead, and most of the KIA's came from us.".....

I was numb as Mac listed the dead. It just couldn't be real. Anthony Pino,Raphael Rendon,Rice, and Cpl. Serrano .......

KIA in this ambush (and subsequent movements to and from) listed by Vogel: